Songkran death toll hits 277 during 6-day period

BANGKOK, April 17 — Road accidents killed 277 people nationwide over the first six of the seven days of the Songkran holiday, according to the Road Safety Centre of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation.

Visarn Techateerawat, caretaker deputy minister of interior, said that statistics compiled by the Road Safety Centre showed that 2,754 road accidents during the first six days of the seven-day campaign to reduce road accidents nationwide, ending today.

The number of road accidents over the first six days this year was 173 more than the first six days of the previous year, 277 deaths was nine less fatalities than last year and 2,926 injuries represented an increase of 143 over last year, he said.